Speaking from the Commons, Barbara Keeley, the MP for Worsley and Eccles South, said she welcomed the suggestion that the House of Lords should consider moving to Salford Quays. "The BBC move to its new base at MediaCity in Salford Quays has been a great success despite attempts by some to talk it down.

"Debates on legislation can and should take place in areas outside London. With an important broadcasting base already at Salford Quays, those debates would be well covered in the media."

She said the Lords were very short of space so it seemed to make sense "to take a serious look at the idea".

Nick Bowles, an MA student at Salford University, adjacent to the BBC at MediaCity, said: "It's not very often I find myself agreeing with the privileged few at the House of Lords – indeed, I don't agree with whole system – but Lord Adonis's comments about the effects of such a centralised government are decades overdue."

He said there was a "metro-centricity" surrounding London and that "every other city" had been diminished by centralised government. "We can't even build a bridge in Manchester without permission or change improve our transport to meet our needs. Housing projects have to signed off by central government. It's ludicrous to allow so few people, often privileged people, to have such control over the majority of the country."

Barbara Spicer, the chief executive of Salford city council, said: "The BBC's relocation to Salford has proved that moving north can be a really positive experience for businesses."

She said she had had some fantastic feedback from BBC staff who have come to MediaCity who are "really making the most of having a new base in the north".

Spicer added that the north has a lot to offer and said: "We welcome opportunities that will give the region an economic boost."